Marine watches birth of child at Pardee over Internet

Saturday

Jan 14, 2012 at 2:58 AM

Thousands of miles from Hendersonville in a USO center in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Cpl. Nicholas Lambert, 22, witnessed the birth of his child in a Pardee Hospital delivery room Wednesday via live streaming video on the Internet.

By Mark SchulmanTimes-News Staff Writer

Thousands of miles from Hendersonville in a USO center in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Cpl. Nicholas Lambert, 22, witnessed the birth of his child in a Pardee Hospital delivery room Wednesday via live streaming video on the Internet.His 20-year-old wife, Jessica Lambert, said the Marine was constantly by her side on the computer screen via Skype supporting her throughout the delivery."That helped a lot," Jessica Lambert said Thursday.She is grateful for the technology that afforded her the opportunity to have her husband present, although he is stationed 7,000 miles away in the Helmand Province."It made a big difference," Lambert said. "I am glad he was here with me."While the Marine was not able to come home for the birth of his child, his command granted him the day off to be with his wife on the Internet.The two are no strangers communicating on the computer.Ironically, the couple met online in the spring of 2010.They married last March and shortly after that, received news he was being deployed and she was pregnant.Jessica Lambert said the Internet video experience brought family closer together."It made it real for him," she said of the birth. "He was here, and he wanted to be here."Unfortunately, Nicholas Lambert missed a lot of his wife's pregnancy because of pre-deployment training before he left the U.S. in October. He was unable to be with his wife for most of the process, including doctors' appointments."But we made it work, everything happens for a reason," he said in an email.Sitting in a private room at the USO in front of the computer, Nicholas Lambert anxiously waited six hours for his newborn, Shannon Elizabeth, to enter the world."This is something that I will never forget, and I think this experience has only made our family stronger," he said.The nurse midwife who delivered the baby said it was a unique video experience for her as well."I went home that night and kept thinking how special that was," said Martha Dysart. "I hope that happens more for fathers that are in the military."Lambert said he learned valuable lesson — to plan ahead."Hopefully, next time we decide to have another child, I will be able to stand by Jessica's side and help her in whatever way she needs help," he said.Lambert will be returning from Afghanistan in May and looks forward to seeing his baby girl in person."I can't imagine what it will be like," he said in the email. "All I know is that it's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I look forward to it more and more every day."Reach Schulman at 828-694-7890 or mark.schulman@blueridgenow.com.